Moon Dust, Blue Fly and UFO draft policy (1961)

From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event

Contents 4
Moon Dust, Blue Fly and UFO draft policy (1961)
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Photo: United States Air Force · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons
Date13 November 1961
TopicsCrashes & retrievals (topic), Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Disinformation & hoaxes (topic)
TestimonyShellenberger testimony, p. 64
Year1961 in UFO history
Timeline1961 on the UAP Timeline
Sources7

Moon Dust, Blue Fly and UFO draft policy (1961) — An Air Force draft policy names intelligence teams for Projects Moon Dust, Blue Fly and 'UFO'.

A November 1961 Air Force intelligence draft paper, prepared by Col. Betz of the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (AFCIN-1E-O), describes three-man field teams of the 1127th Field Activities Group. In peacetime, these teams were to support three projects: "Moon Dust", recovering fallen foreign space objects and debris; "Blue Fly", rushing such material quickly to the Foreign Technology Division at Wright-Patterson; and "UFO", investigating reliably reported unidentified flying objects.

The draft was obtained by researchers through Freedom of Information Act requests in the 1980s. It appears never to have been formally approved, and a 1986 Air Force reply said the projects had ended and their records were destroyed, though later State Department cables showed Moon Dust remained active into the 1970s.

The document is genuine and is one of the clearest official records showing that the Air Force planned for rapid recovery of unusual objects, including UFOs. Skeptics note that in practice Moon Dust recovered Soviet rocket parts and satellite debris. Others argue that it shows the government had a recovery capability that it didn't acknowledge publicly.

People and topics

Illustration of a government hearing
Illustration: a government hearing. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

On the Timeline

Illustration of official papers and files
Illustration: official papers and files. An artist's impression drawn for this site, not a photograph of the event.

See every 1961 event on the UAP Timeline →

References

Further reading

This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.

Discuss the article: missing sources, mistakes, or what should be added.

No discussion yet.

BrowseFeedArticlesTimelineOfficial filesMapTonight’s SkyStatsFavorites